Don Collier

Don "Wardaddy" Collier (died April 1945) was a US Army sergeant who served as a tank platoon commander of the US 2nd Armored Division during World War II.

Biography
Don Collier served in the US 2nd Armored Division from 1942 to 1945, fighting the Germans in North Africa, France, and Belgium with his crewmates Boyd Swan, Trini Garcia, Grady Travis, and "Red". He learned to become a hardened veteran after soiling himself during his first tank battle in Africa, and he came to despise the Waffen-SS for their role in war crimes. In 1945, during the drive into Germany, he took the deceased "Red"'s replacement, Norman Ellison, under his wing, and he bullied him into being a hardened soldier; he had him clean the tank (forcing him to clean up a part of "Red"'s face) and physically forced him to shoot a German prisoner for wearing an American uniform. Collier would protect Ellison from the other crewmates, however, especially while Collier and Ellison were staying with two German cousins in their house in Kirchohsen; Collier threatened to kick in the teeth of any crewmember who attempted to touch Ellison's German lover, Emma, as Collier had struck up a friendship with the family. The two soldiers became good friends, and they both took part in the defense of the crossroads at Hagenohsen in a desperate last stand. Collier and Ellison were the last two survivors of the crew, and a badly-wounded and immobilized Collier had Ellison escape through an emergency hatch at the bottom of the tank, shortly before being killed by German stick grenades. Collier's stand killed around 200 German soldiers and protected a American field hospital down the road, making him a hero, despite some of his brutal instincts.